Page 118 of His to Burn
To do something.
But there was nothing left to do but think, and that was almost as scary as what I knew lurked outside.
I dared not look at Jack, though I was acutely aware of his presence.
My gaze flicked to Caitlin. She saw me and didn’t look away. It was one of the few times I didn’t see malice in her eyes. I hoped that would hold.
Eventually, when I couldn’t avoid it anymore, I looked at Jack. He was stationed inthe corner focused on the door, though I knew he was aware of everything.
He looked calm, and knowing him, he felt it.
I felt the opposite. Those moments with Jack in the closet were tense and then intense and then perfect. I should have been used to it when Jack was around, but I still couldn’t wrap my head around it.
How could he send me to the heights of pleasure, making me feel safe, and make me want to throttle him in the space of forty-five minutes?
I didn’t know, but I knew I would miss him when he was gone.
That thought sent a sting through my chest and settled in my stomach next to the food I now wanted to throw up.
Instead, I walked over and sat next to him.
I sighed and then looked at my feet. “Should I be brave enough to take off my boots?”
He chuckled. “You strike me as the type who likes to live on the edge.”
“Why? Just because the first time we met, I crawled down an elevator shaft?”
“It made an impression,” he said.
I looked at him and saw that his expression was serious. He still had more to say about this change of plans, but I could tell he let it go.
For now.
I’d take it.
I gave him a slight smile and then shrugged and pulled off my boots.
The relief was instant.
I sighed and stared down at my feet.
“Should’ve found more socks,” I muttered.
I still wore the same trouser socks I’d been wearing at the courthouse. They were not built for boots.
Not built for any of this.
“You’ll manage,” he said.
“Your faith in me is humbling, but your sympathy lacks.”
“I’m plenty sympathetic. But I know you. You can handle it.”
I glanced over at him and stared at his profile. His expression was almost serene.
Like the world itself hadn’t cracked.
“How do you do that?” I whispered.
